1 Dollar - Elizabeth II The Duchess of Marlborough Egg

Niue has long served as a licensing vehicle for novelty bullion issues — its numismatic program generates revenue for the island territory far exceeding anything its domestic economy produces. This piece belongs to a series reproducing the Fabergé-style eggs commissioned by or associated with the British aristocracy, in this case the egg created for Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, whose 1895 marriage to the 9th Duke was widely understood to be a transactional arrangement that saved Blenheim Palace from financial ruin with her American railroad inheritance.

The coin's unusual weight reflects its shaped or enameled format rather than a standard planchet.